NEW YORK, United States — A buying spree at Bank of New York Mellon Corp. boosted money management and servicing fees, and helped the trust bank return to profitability in the third quarter.

Assets under management surged 18 per cent to US$1.14 trillion, driven in part by BNY Mellon’s July acquisition of PNC’s Global Investment Servicing for US$2.3 billion, and a US$343 million European deal in August to acquire BHF Asset Servicing GmbH.

Chairman and CEO Robert P Kelly said the acquisitions helped offset weakness in capital markets, with assets under custody and administration climbing 10 per cent to US$24.4 trillion, driven by new business as well as higher market values.

“Our newly combined capabilities position us to bid for and win pieces of business that we never would have won previously,” Kelly told analysts yesterday on a conference call, noting that both acquisitions added to the company’s earnings.

The New York bank reported net income of US$622 million, or 51 cents per share, in the three months ended September 30. That contrasts with a net loss of US$2.46 billion, or US$2.05 per share, a year earlier. That loss was related to a charge for restructuring the company’s investment securities portfolio.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, whose estimates usually take out one-time items, predicted earnings of 54 cents per share, on average.

BNY Mellon’s revenue rose 3 percent to US$3.43 billion from US$3.33 billion, which beat Wall Street’s US$3.39 billion forecast.

Total adjusted fee revenue rose to US$2.71 billion from US$2.61 billion last year. Net interest revenue, or earnings from deposits and loans, rose to US$718 million from US$716 million.

BNY Mellon’s results were weighed down by a decline in foreign exchange and other trading revenue, to US$146 million from US$246 million in the same quarter a year ago. Declining interest rates and lower volatility hurt trading activity in the latest quarter.

Last quarter’s acquisitions as well the acquisition of British pension fund manager Insight Investment Management in last year’s fourth quarter contributed to a nearly 13 per cent increase in total non-interest expenses, which rose to US$2.61 billion from US$2.31 billion.

With the acquisitions, BNY Mellon’s employee total rose to 47,700 from 42,000 a year ago.

The deals also have given BNY Mellon’s business a more international flavor. The company generated 51 per cent of its revenue from outside the US last quarter, up from 42 per cent in the year-ago quarter.

BNY Mellon on Tuesday also declared a quarterly dividend of 9 cents per common share, payable November 9 to shareholders of record as of October 29.